LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN | YMC

At the YMC show, the audience was taken to a 60s tropical paradise. Nostalgia for past, idyllic summers manifested itself through The Beach Boys and other tropicana vibes, coconut water, and charming Hawaiian prints projected upon the walls. In the basement of the Vinyl Factory, ‘You Must Create’ created beach to evening attire with rolled-up cigarette style jeans, semi-conservative checks, jumpers nonchalantly tossed across the shoulders, buttoned-up shirts, and cardigans in sober shades of lemon and burgundy, as well as death-by-neutral. Imagine Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass… as a 60s Lothario.

Linen blazers with school-boy stripes, straw hats and turned up cargos were a reminder of youthful stints at boarding school, while pastel partners salmon and sky blue casually slung jumpers, and your Grandad’s sandals made for East Hampton-fabulous. The models became dashing sailors in revived Breton stripes of green and white, then devilishly preppy in polo shirts and blazer inventions. Chintzy china-pattern prints with a botanical theme were seen in white on navy, with slouchy old-skool shorts in all their glory with pre-pubescent grey ankle socks.

In the final portion of this romantic retrospective, the last three looks contorted leopard print into a polo shirt with coordinating cap, paired with wide leg jeans and sandy deck shoes; followed by a Grease-lightening bomber with Wayfarer shades; and finally an anorak for those tropical monsoons. In this Americana-inspired amalgamation, kooky met preppy. YMC created well.